Date: April 20th, 2024

For Record Store Day, shanty polka punk rock band The Dreadnoughts played 2 locations at Dogfish Head in Delaware. They did an acoustic set at the Brewery in Milton and then a full band set at Brewings and Eats in Rehoboth Beach. I only got to see the full band set but was happy I got to finally see the Dreadnoughts perform live!

I’ve been listening to the Dreadnoughts since their album ‘Polka’s Not Dead’ was released on Stomp Records. The band is originally from Vancouver but Nicholas Smyth relocated to NYC so he’s the only member touring these days it seems. I’ve always loved the polka punk aspect of the group, but having them add shanty to the mix has made them a little more popular since shanties were all the craze on social media a few years ago.

The band started with a shanty of course and then broke out in some polka, folk, klezmer, celtic, sea shanty punk rock mixture that has worked well for them. The fiddle player was very into the music, and Nicholas was cracking jokes throughout the set that was making me laugh. He kept poking fun at the Maple Leafs losing another playoff game. You know someone is from Canada if they are talking about hockey. (He’s an Oilers fan). The only word I could describe their live set was chaotic. The music was fun, their antics were great to witness and love how into their set they were. It doesn’t matter how many people are in the audience, they will show you a good time.

There were some dedicated fans in the crowd and were picked on to do a polka-train around Dogfish Head. Then another time they had to catch the mandolin player and bring him to the bar and get him a bar, then bring him back. The last crazy thing they had the crowd do was do the polka-train across the street and come back. Sure enough, people did it and they jokingly said lock the doors when they were outside.

After taking a break, they played my favorite song from them, “Polka Never Dies.” Other songs they played that night included “Spanish Ladies,” “Poutine,” “Amiens Polka,” and finished the set with “Elizabeth” with a little bit of Jimmy Buffet thrown in the mix. Such a fun band to see live, check them out! I’m waiting for that Dreadnoughts / Jimmy Sturr tour next.